Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 100 Part 5.djvu/939

 PROCLAMATION 5450—MAR. 21, 1986

100 STAT. 4413

Our farms, ranches, orchards, vineyards, and nurseries; the businesses that supply them; and those who transform and transport their raw commodities or sell the final products, provide us with the world's most abundant and varied supply of food and clothing. American agriculture also helps feed tens of millions of people in other countries. Moreover, the activities of the 23 million Americans employed in agriculture generate one-fifth of our gross national product and one-fifth of our Nation's jobs. Maintaining such production—nearly one-twelfth of the world's output of major agriculture commodities—requires careful stewardship of natural resources and capital, flexibility in responding to the vagaries of weather and the vicissitudes of the international marketplace, unparalleled mastery of many skills, and the continuous support of research institutions. To honor the immense and varied contributions made to our economy and our national life by the men and women working in American agriculture, and to foster a greater understanding of the importance of this sector of our economy, the Congress of the United States, by Public Law 99-207 approved December 23, 1985, has designated March 20, 1986, as "National Agriculture Day" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion. NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 20, 1986, as National Agriculture Day, and I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth. .-Nn:.q^r: i: - •!.'-'••.-.

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Proclamation 5450 of March 21, 1986

Afghanistan Day, 1986

RONALD REAGAN -•:.,

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By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation The people of Afghanistan celebrate March 21 as the beginning of their new year. In ordinary times, it is an occasion of joy, renewal, and hope for a better future. March 21, 1986, however, does not mark the passage of an ordinary year, nor does it bring cause to celebrate. For the heroic Afghan people it marks the beginning of yet another year in their struggle for national liberation against the ruthless Soviet military force that seeks to conquer them. Over six years ago, on December 27, 1979, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, a small, friendly, nonaligned, and deeply religious neighbor. For six long years, the Soviets have sought to obliterate Afghan culture and remold that ancient nation into a replica of their own system, causing millions of Afghan refugees to flee the country. To achieve their goals, the Soviets installed the quisling regime of Babrak Karmal, in which Soviet advisors now man the key positions. They have transported thousands of young Afghans to the Soviet Union for reeducation in summer camps, universities, and specialized institutions, and they have set up a secret police apparatus matched in brutality only by their own KGB. These tactics hardly begin to describe the continuing horror of the Soviet attempt to subjugate Afghanistan, a violation of international law repeated-

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